Hangers are essential household items, and each year, large numbers of hangers are sold to consumers and thus packaged and shipped to retail stores. Due to their design, hangers are bulky and difficult to package for shipping and display in a store. Traditionally, hangers when sold to retail stores have been packaged in large cardboard boxes. A store worker then must take the hangers out of the boxes and hang them on rods for display in the store. This task is time-consuming and also creates the opportunity for unpleasant store conditions. For example, a box of hangers may be placed in an aisle for a worker to take the hangers out of the box for display. If the worker does not immediately remove all the hangers, or if the task of removing them is interrupted, hangers are left in the aisle in cardboard boxes. This can be unsightly and block the aisle from customer traffic.
The prior art shows a number of packages that include use of hangers. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,922 to Good, "Product Display Hanger"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,610 to Rhyne, "Hanging Product Display Packages"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,553 to Bennett, "Plastic Film Package with a Hanger"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,242, "Display Package Having a Retractable Hanger." However, it appears that none of these patents address the drawbacks associated with in-store display of hangers for the sale of the hangers themselves, as discussed above. As may be appreciated, it would be advantageous to have a packaging assembly that addresses these drawbacks.